Confused in Love
by Ray x Leo
Summary: In the depths of the woods, Seth Akk finds herself encountering the Slender Man. More than once! Where does this lead as, contrary to popular belief, he starts to help her instead of kill her? Set in Skyrim, Rated T for Language and possible gore. (Based on a Roleplay between Leo and Ray. Seth Akk is Leo's Skyrim OC. Story title "Confused in Love" might be temporary.)
1. Our fated meet

Notes littered the lush trees of the forest. At first, Seth must have most likely not noticed them, unlike Slender Man had originally hoped. Someone who he couldn't get into the mind of and scare, and force her to succumb to his whim through mind control, was not afraid, and he didn't particularly like it. Slendy teleported in behind Seth, but as quiet as he was, the leaves crunched under him the moment he did so.

Seth did notice one note on a tree, but the sound of the leaves behind her, got her concerned. She turned and raised her eyebrow.

"Hello person I don't know hello!" She said –How Leo greets people that she doesn't know.

She waved on arm in the air, waving to him and sarcastically smiling.

Slender Man tried to reach out to her brain, but was unable to control her. He knew she'd make a good proxy but was not able to make her one of them. He crouches down in front of her, staring her plainly in the face.

"What are you?" He said in his low, monotone voice.

"Who am I?" The Jashinist said smiling widely.

"I'm your worst nightmare, plainy face~" She said sweetly trying to be nice to the man she didn't know.

She fixed her bloody dress a bit and started to walk away from him, back to her business, laughing a bit.

Slendy reached out a long tendril from his back and reached out, pulling Seth back towards him by the arm. "Be serious."

Being pulled back she sighed and frowned.

"Fine, you want the real information? I'll give it to you." She fixed the hair in front of her face and spoke.

"I am Seth; a Jashinist in the Companions. Since I have a free spirited mind, no one can mind control me in anyway. It's impossible." She crossed her arms and turned her head to him.

"Did that answer your question? "

Slender Man shook her around picked her up off the ground with his tendrils.

"It's not impossible for me." He said as he tried to... 'Hack' into her mind.

After being picked up and shook around, she covered her mouth and was about to hurl.

"Ohh…..I think I'm gonna hurl…." It came up but she swallowed it, so she didn't throw up.

"Look you, put me down, I told you that you can't control my mind, no matter how hard you do shit to me! Also you're squeezing me too hard!" Seth shouted trying to get free.

"You humans are…weak." He puts her down- well it was a bit more of a toss –and faced her uncomfortably closely.

"So fragile and flexible, a human mind able break only because of what they see, their own vision deterring them from reality. But you are different. I can see it in your mind. Heavily guarded; nothing fazes you. Why? You're only human like the rest of them."

She stands up after being tossed and fixes her bloody dress and puts her hands on her hips.

"And what are you? Ever think about that yourself? Bet you don't. And do you know what I think about you? I think your some stalker in the woods, who wears a damn suit 24/7 and has his face burned off. SO I advise you to go and stop being a rapist in the woods!"

Seth shouted to him, but finds the note on the tree and just puts her palm on it and burns it with a Cast…the walk away as if nothing happened.

Slender Man teleports in front of Seth quickly. He stares her down with the eyes that he doesn't have, frowning with his mouth that doesn't exist.

"You are not afraid in the slightest bit." He states, pointing out the plainly obvious.

"Under normal conditions you'd run. I am a myth come to life and this does not alter your point of view?"

"Doesn't change a damn bit. I'm not scared of nothing and I don't care if you're a myth come to life, you can kiss my Jashin ass!" She yelled right into his face then turned the other way and walked away again.

The Slender Man picks her up again into the air by the leg.

"You will find that I am not that easy to get rid of." Slendy disappeared, dropping Seth and then disappeared.

After being dropped, she got up and groaned pissed off. "What the fuck…Like Jashin damn what's his problem…damn faceless man…." She said angered, then went off to her home in Riften.


	2. Helping doesn't do him justice

The crisp winter nights of Skyrim are never avoidable to those who inhabit this place. One of its inhabitants - among many - is none other than the Slender Man, who was walking through the woods, propping himself up with the tendrils that sprout from his back like a spider's legs. The tendrils being just long enough so his feet barely touch the ground, he slightly rustled the leaves as he searched for his first victim of the night, which would be a child if he was fortunate enough to find one wandering out in the forest at night.

Our lovely Seth Akk, was in the woods, same as Slender. Wondering around, thinking to herself.

'Hmm…these woods are familiar….I thought I met was someone here….' She thought to herself, she was so curious…she came to these woods for a reason, to find her chain tendril, that got ripped off in a fight with a Frost Troll.

"Where the hell is it?" She said angered. Of course it hurts when one of her tendrils are gone, it won't stop until she found it, her tendrils don't grow back.

The Slender Man eventually came across a spiny, chained, rope-like thing in the woods. He crouched in front of it and reached out one of his skinny arms, picking it up and observing it close to his face, -at least, where it would be- eyeing it with the eyes he didn't have. At the end of it he saw blood, then in front of that spiny chain was more blood. Buckets of it, it looked like. He put the chain down and then felt a presence around the forest. In a way, he knew someone was out here looking for the chain. He could see the pain in this person, but also the determination and he recognized it. The Slender Man knew he'd encountered this person before, and saw this chain and this person as an opportunity to become reacquainted as he rolled up the tentacle like chain in his hands and made his way towards the entity whom he questioned why wasn't dead already.

Seth wanted to give up, she couldn't find it. She went over to a tree and hit her head against it multiple times.

" 't. . . ." She said, every time she hit her head against the tree, until she stopped and sensed a presence as well. It was negative…She picked her head up and looked around…nothing…she took a few steps forward and looked some more…she knows someone was there.

Quietly the Slender Man revealed himself from the brush to face this mysterious presence who, immediately familiar to him, was Seth, the only person he couldn't get into the mind of. He looked at her, then at their surrounding cautiously. Perhaps she knew he'd come looking? Perhaps she left that chain on purpose as a trap? Revenge? That was highly unlikely but The Slender Man kept those possibilities in mind as he uncoiled the bloody chain and held his arm out with it to her.

After looking in her surroundings, Seth found nothing until she turned around and was surprised to see Slender once again; she knew this place was familiar.

"Ugh, you again, what the hell do you-" Her sentence of hatred to him stopped when she noticed that he had her tendril? "My tendril…"She said surprised. "How…how did you find it? I've been looking for days….thank you…" She thanked him very pleased.

She took the tendril from his hand and smiled to see it, she had been in pain for days. "Um…could you help me attach it back...on?" She asked for a little help.

A bit surprised at how grateful Seth seemed, the slender being had expected a much more hostile approach from this old ''comrade''. He was taken aback when he was asked even for help by the same person he'd slammed into a tree the first time they'd met, but decided it'd be a better idea to make a friend out of Seth than an enemy. He nodded lightly and took the chain tendril back, putting it on Seth's back and re-attaching it with the hooks he could clearly see embedded in her back.

After it being re-attached, she turned around to him and frowned a little.

"Thank you very much…I'm so sorry for being a complete jerk to you, when we met…" She said upset, looking down feeling like a jerk, the day they met.

He cocked his head to the side slightly. He was confused. She seemed so tough, so angry, and so... unafraid. For her to change in a matter of weeks perhaps is strange. He never fully understood humans. An almost microscopic slit appeared on his 'face' and he said

"Do not worry. It's okay." With a low, scratchy, demonic voice.

He'd have preferred telepathy but his inability to explore the confines of Seth's mind rendered that useless, so resorting to actual speech works just as well.

Hearing the Slender Man's voice scared Seth a little. She went a little scared to a smile, hearing 'its okay' from him. She looked up and closed her eyes, happily hugged his waist since he was very tall.

Like it was previously mentioned, Slender Man doesn't exactly understand humans too well and was confused as to how Seth could hate him one minute, and hug him the next. But this didn't bother him much as he hugged her back awkwardly, his height a definite difference from hers.

After Seth hugged Slender, she went from a happy smile plastering her face and pleased closed eyes, to realizing how embarrassing this moment was. She quickly took a few steps back and looked down, scratching the back of her head very embarrassed- blushing just a very tiny bit.

"Oh…um…I apologize for that…..I should be heading off." She said still embarrassed, but looked up, with her normal straight face and thanked him again for finding her tendril.

Seth picked up her bloody dress slightly to walk more easily and headed to her Lake more Manor.

Once their embrace broke, the Slender Man watched as Seth left, heading for some part of the forest he hardly explored. He preferred to stay closer to that special house full of murderers, just in case. He waited just until Seth was out of sight to leave. Now that they had a sort of..."friendship" you could say, he felt unnaturally compelled to make sure nothing got in the way of that friendship, such as other people, lack of time, etc... Even death, he had decided, must not get in between that.


	3. Early Days

After Seth had that little visit with that man helping her with the tendril, she walked back to her home in Riften. As she walked back home, she thought very deeply about that man, as if she saw him before. 'Where did I see him before? So familiar…..the notes and the suit…' She thought. She started to have a headache and dizziness. She felt a negative presence near her…she didn't have her Resistance cast activated, she before she lost consciousness, she went to a tree and sat under it. Then she was unconscious. After the thought staying in her mind…

~Flash back~  
Seth was only four living with her parents. She was a 'mini Jashinist' her father called it. She whore and really baggy red and white cloak- you couldn't see her hands and feet. Her hair was snowy white and her eyes where light pink. She always had a teddy bear, an old one, her mother used to have. She would hold it by the arm, with one hand and drag it with her everywhere she goes. One day her father needed a request.

"Seth! Honey! Could you come down here?!" Her father asked, from down stairs.

Seth was drawing a picture of the Jashin symbol , but once she was called down by her father, she stopped drawing and took her and her teddy bear down stairs. Once she was down stairs, she found her parents at the front door. Her mother was holding a basket and a small list of ingredients. Seth went up to her parents.

"Yes, father?" She asked.

Her father kneeled down to her.

"Honey, your mother and I think you're ready to do your first quest." He smiled.

"Q-Quest?"

"Yep. It's a simple one really, and it takes place in the woods. You see, your mother needs a few ingredients and she is a bit busy, so you're going into the woods and get those ingredients. Okay?"

"Why can't you go yourself?" She asked.

"Well, I'm busy as well; I haven't done my ritual yet, for Jashin." He giggled.

"Oh okay." Seth smiled.

"Here, honey bear."

Her mother said, giving the basket and list to Seth. Seth took the basket in one hand and the other holding the list with her teddy bear. She was about to leave, until her father said a quick warning.

"Wait; one more thing."

Seth turned around and listened.

"If you ever see the 'Man in black', you fight back!"

Sillia (Mother) hit him in the back of the head.

"Honey, she is too young to fight."

"Okay, okay fine. Seth if you see him, you run away or use you're Portation Cast, okay?"

Seth nodded and her parents hugged her. She went off into the woods, where the ingredients are and kept wondering who the 'Man in black' is.

This aforementioned Man in black, none other than the Slender Man in this flash back to the past, had been watching Seth and her family for quite some time. At first he had thought that Seth would just be some ordinary little girl, much like the other ones the Slender Man had abducted and viciously murdered, but that changed when he found that her parents knew him, and told their daughter about him. So she knows who he is, and he wouldn't be able to simply stroll up to her and whisk her away into the forest like he had normally done.

So naturally the Slender Man stalks her house at night. Not in the day of course, he'd likely be spotted as a moving suited figure among the trees not nearly as tall as him. In the day he'd hunt strangers who'd venture too far into his forest. Of course he had heard the night before Seth's parents were wondering whether she was ready for a quest, and were going to send her into his forest. Now he knew to look out for her, but she'd be easy to find.

As soon as little Seth strolled into the forest, Slender Man felt her presence near. He looked for her in the messy thicket of trees and shrubs, and eventually was able to find her. He stood out of her way for a bit, but eventually became impatient and stood out from the trees, standing directly in front of the peachy, teddy bear loving little girl.

Seth didn't notice him. She looked at the list and the very first thing was on it, was Blue Mountain flower. "Blue Mountain flow, huh? That should be easy to find…" She put the list in the basket, and looks in front of her. She jumped, frightened, and starred at the Man in black. After be a little too frightened, she covered her face with her teddy bear and dropped the basket.

"P-Please…don't…h-hurt me….!" She said very scared and shivering.

'Oh my Jashin, is he the Man in Black…? She thought to herself, while begging for mercy.

The Slender Man knelt down then reached his head down to her level. He looked her over with those eyes he didn't have but didn't need, and then grabbed her ankle and pulled her up, and he stood back up, looking at her as she hung upside-down from his hand. Slender Man didn't understand that younger humans didn't understand as much as the adults, since he never got to know them, he'd only tear them apart, so he questioned her as if she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"How do your parents know me?" The words would sting in little Seth's head.

Feeling stinging in her head, she ignored it. She didn't mind being held up in anyways, as long she wasn't harm. She took the teddy bear off her face, and looked at his faceless face…she stared and answered his question.

"Oh….m-my parents? Oh well….my m-mom was the first one to…..find…uh you…and she named you the Man in black. It stared….when my mom was twelve and she was in the woods in the middle of the night, looking for Nial Root….as she went through the woods, she found a n-note. She got curious, and continued to collect the notes instead…She collected…eight of them and after the eighth one…..I'm guessing you appeared, and tri-tried to kill her…..But she was quick enough to use a special Teleporting Cast, and fled. And then after that, she met my father…..and she told him….and when they had me….my father told me…..m-my father told me to stay away from you but…..you look like a really nice person…I don't think you would hurt an-anyone, would you?" She explained and asked him shyly and scared a bit.

As the Slender Man listened to the story, he remembered who Seth's mother was. Of course he would remember, he wouldn't forget a victim who'd actually gotten away from him. He didn't pay her much mind at first, but now he was thinking of several ways to get at the prey he'd failed to catch. He flipped Seth over in the air, then holding her by her arm.

"You, Seth, have a very poor judge of character."

His 'voice' lowered. "I have hurt many in order to get what I want, or even just for fun." He could feel the fear in her voice escalate in the moments that he did not let her go.

He smiled wide, a smile you could actually see as what could be taken as his mouth began to open up on his blank face. He knew this would scare Seth, perhaps even scar her into the depths of insanity, and at that thought a Cheshire grin formed, he smiled ear to ear and stretched his jaws over Seth's head for a moment, before completely disappearing. No flash of light, no dust, no noise. One second he was there and the next he wasn't.

Seeing him disappear, just like that, Seth was very surprised he didn't eat her or anything. But she was terrified of his mouth…and his voice was demonic…most negative hearing she ever heard. She deceived to ignore it for now and keep it to herself, and not tell her parents. Once he was gone, she was dropped, but she landed on her feet. Still holding her teddy bear and picking up the basket, she tried to forget what just happened. He was still near, feeling such a negative presence, nearby. She didn't want to go home yet, she still needs to get the ingredients. So she took her teddy bear and picked up the basket, continuing to head off deeper into the woods, for the items she needs…also, keeping and out for that man appearing again, looking behind her once in a while. After a small amount of time, she found the flowers, under a healthy tree. She headed over and put her basket and teddy down, to go pick them.

The Slender Man had of course not ported too far away, but far enough so Seth would not be able to see him. He needed time to gather information on her family, because he didn't just want to kill them. He had a conscience, he was curious. The Slender Man was not just a killing machine, bent on murder and destruction of humans, even though that's what he did. He followed her to her happy flower picking, but did not get into her line of view as he watched from the trees behind her. His mouth was closed now of course, but if it were open, he'd likely be drooling in anticipation of a meal, but he knew better than to kill anyone at this time.

Seth finally finished picking the flowers that she needed. She put them gently into the basket and began to head off again. She picked up her items and headed of too the next thing on the list...she took a quick look.

"Okay...that's done...Cenct leaves."

She put the list back in the basket and went for the next item. After a bit of a long time finding the certain tree, she found it. She could see the bright yellow leaves on a branch that where perfect. She headed over, putting her things down. But when she was about to get the leaves, there was a problem. She couldn't reach. She sighed in disappointment and just sat under the tree, taking her teddy bear and hugging it.

The Slender Man had continued to watch Seth as she picked the flowers up in her small hands. He looked down at his, which were almost as big as Seth herself. When he looked back up, he realized Seth had moved on to another large, tall tree. He followed her, undetected, and internally chuckled at the sight he'd seen. Seth was too short to reach the leaves of the tree to put them in her little basket. Though the Slender Man thought this was rather pathetic, he felt a bit of sympathy and he reached a long black tendril from his back, through his suit, and picked a bundle of leaves off the tree, then laid them in front of Seth. He did this while still hiding in the shadows of the dark forest.

Seth heard noises above her from the tree. She looked up from her teddy bear and saw nothing...until she looked in front of her. Her eyes widened, and she put her teddy down and took the leaves. She placed them in the basket, and went to head off for the final ingredient. Picking up her things and heading off for the next ingredient. She took a look at the list.

"Butterfly wings..."

She put the list back in the basket and went off. After a bit, she went to a small meadow, where there were millions of butterflies. She put her things down and went over, taking butterflies and ripping their wings off. After a bit of ripping, she had enough, and she put them in the basket. She was finished and she picked up her items, and went home. After an hour or so, she  
finally got home. Looking behind her, and then entering her house. She went over to her mother and gave the basket to her.

"Thank you, Sweetie. Did you get hurt? Did you see the Man in black?"

She asked. "No, mommy, I'm fine. And no, I didn't see the Man in black." She answered.

"That's good, Sweetie."

Seth smiled and went to head off to her room. Once she was in her room, she went to her desk and began drawing the Man, how she saw him. During down stairs, her father asked her mother if she saw him.

"Honey, did she see him?" He said.

"No Sweetness."

"Damnit..."

Her father was upset, Seth didn't see him but lived with it and her Mother giggled to her husband's disappointment. Upstairs, she finished drawing and she began to color. The picture was him and her holding hands, as if they were friends. Seth smiled and continued to color.

The Slender Man followed her to the meadow full of butterflies as well, after the leaves. He was surprised to see so many beautiful places he hadn't noticed before in his dark dreary forest of death. So many trees full of life, and the fluttering butterflies he had strangely never noticed. Perhaps he would spare Seth and her family if she kept up with all these errands, showing him a brighter side to every neck of the woods. Of course, that's what he wanted himself to think. He knew that, deep down in his subconscious, he kind of liked the little girl. Most of his victims scream out and lash, but she tried her best to keep calm and simply obey. The Slender Man would never say this out loud, however. He noticed Seth had started moving back toward her house, and so he followed at a considerable distance until she reached her house, then he stopped. He was outside of the house when he could hear elk rushing through the forest behind him, and hunters hot on their trail. They were in the forest, h̲i̲s̲ forest, but no matter how badly he wanted to hunt them down and feast upon their tender muscles, he didn't. He wanted more to stay with Seth, so he hoped the eerie pages all around were enough to scare them off, and he even more hoped that when he went back that he'd find a bunch of symbols of The Observer around his forest. That would make it quite uninhabitable for him. He tried to get that thought off his mind and looked through Seth's window. He could see she was coloring, or drawing something but he couldn't tell what; he was too far away and didn't dare get closer, for fear that her parents would spot him.

Little Seth smiled, that she finished the picture. She looked at her wall, where her bed was against it and hopped onto it, and stuck the picture on the wall. So every morning, she can see the picture and smile. But then after a few seconds, she had a headache and felt dizzy. She decide to make herself tea and that would take the headache away. She went over to her small cabinet in the corner of the room and took out ingredients for the tea. She went over to her small fireplace and lit the logs with a match. Then she placed the small tea pot, hanging from the fire. She added water, Red Mountain flower petals, Blood dragon scales, Silver fish scales, Nial root, a small special ingredient her Mother uses in her food, and a small drop of Dragon blood, to give it that dark red color. She put the cover on the tea and she placed it on her table and sat there, waiting it for the tea to be done. She looked out her window and saw him again. She didn't scream, just got surprised. She stared at him and waved a little bit, with a small smile.

The Slender Man continued to watch her, and when she stopped drawing and hung the picture on the wall, he got a clear look at it. He was fairly surprised to find that it was Seth and himself in the picture, and though it was crudely drawn children's art, it was unmistakable that it was the Slender Man in the picture with Seth. He watched her light her fireplace and put tea to boil, and he watched her come up to the window and wave at him. The Slender Man walked closer to the window, his face directly in front of it as he copied Seth's motions and waved back

Seth smiled, but then her headache grew larger in pain. She put her head down on the table, so didn't know where the pain was coming from. She whimpered in pain. "Owy…..m-my head….." She said, rubbing the side of her head. The tea was done and she went over, to the small tea pot and took the tea pot out and put it on the table; pouring her tea which had the color of blood and then taking small sips from the cup.

The Slender Man watched her writhe slightly as Seth grabbed her head in pain. Everyone does that when he's around. Their brains aren't strong enough to handle the electromagnetic force that surrounds him; but normally that makes it easier for him to catch his human prey. He moved away from Seth's window so the force wouldn't be as heavy on her head.

Seth's pain started to go away; she took her hand off her head and shook her head a little, all she could see for a few seconds was static. Once her vision cleared, she took another sip of her tea. After a bit her parents came into her room, to put her to bed.

"Sweetie, time for bed." Her mother said sweetly.

"But….I am not tired…." She said groaning.

"Honey, to be a good Jashinst, Jashinists need plenty of sleep."

Her father said smiling and picking up Seth and tucking her into bed.

"But….."

"No buts, child." Her mother said, petting her head.

Her parents smiled and kissed her forehead goodnight and blew the candles out. It was pitch dark and her parents left her room, shutting the door. Her parents went to sleep as well, and she was the only one awake. She started to think to herself. 'That 'game' mom played with the Man….collecting 8 notes and running away…..I want to do that…. And be just like mom….all brave and stuff like that…' She planned that after her parents were asleep, she would go out and play the 'game' too. After about twenty minutes or so, her parents were dead asleep. She jumped right out of bed and got her teddy bear and went out of her room, downstairs. Once down stairs, she got a torch her mom used and headed out the door. She needed to get home before dawn, or they will get worried. She lit the torch and headed into the woods to start the 'game'.


	4. The Beginning of The Game

The Slender Man kept watching through Seth's window until her parents came to put her to bed. Afraid of being seen, he backed out into the forest once more, and simply strolled the forest looking for a victim; The Slender Man always has room for prey in his stomach. He had very soon felt a presence in the forest and went to investigate. He found that it was indeed Seth, but wasn't she put to bed? She must have snuck out, and she was carrying a flashlight. Slender Man didn't understand at first until he saw her searching for something, and he knew she was looking for the pages. Her mother must have told her about the Slender Man's game of tag. It can even be called a 'summoning ritual', since he'll always appear if you take the pages in his forest. Eventually, he was mindlessly following Seth from a distance until she picks up a note, then he would get closer and closer.

Walking in the woods, Seth was getting bored and started calling out his name.

"Maannn innn blllaackkk...guy I know...with the weird...smile on his face..." Seth stopped calling and found a note on a tree.

"Hey a note..." She went over and picked up the note to read.

"Always watching..." She read off the note, and then put it in her pocket.

"I don't get- he doesn't have any...that doesn't make sense, but okay...moving on!" She continued to walk to the place where the next note is, looking behind her- once in a while-if her friend was there.

The Slender Man clearly heard Seth in the woods, her voice ringing amongst the vast emptiness filled with trees. He didn't understand why she said "weird smile", since he had no mouth. He didn't understand she was joking. He sensed her frail childish hands plucking a note off of a tree, and he got closer to her as she read it over.

Seth jumped a little, hearing noises behind her.

"M-Man in black…?" She said, scared as she turns around and points the flashlight toward Slender.

"Oh…..hi friend…..what are you doing standing there…?" She said giving a smile, until she started seeing static and her head began to throb with pain.

"Owy….my head….." She shook her head and the static got worst.

She turned around and the pain faded away. She started to walk with the note she had to the next one on a damaged carriage. After a bit of walking, she found the carriage and collected the note. It had Slender, and a bunch of 'No's' everywhere on it. She read it over.

"No…? Why no? He is a bad thing? He's my friend….he can't be bad" Collecting the second note, went on to the next one.

As Seth turned to the Slender Man, he knew he was hurting her and he knew for sure it hurt, but he hardly control his ascending closer and closer to Seth as she collected another note. He would just get closer and closer until he'd probably rip her spinal cord out her throat.

Her pain grew larger, the more he came closer. Seth tried to ignore it and head on. To get away from the pain, she decided to do a Speed run Cast. She sighed and put her teddy down under a tree, and then come back for it. She did the hand sighs and her eyes were white,-saying that the cast was activated. She ran straight through the woods, collecting three notes, and then stopped at a healthy oak tree, with beautiful colored red leaves. She put her hand on the tree, panting, looking over the notes and her Cast was now used up.

"6 more, huh? Can't be too hard…..She said to herself. She pointed the flashlight, and went on for the next notes.


End file.
